Jin’s POV
   “Is it done yet?”

   “No.”

   A few seconds of silence.

   “Is it done yet?”

   “No.”

   A few more seconds of silence.

   “Is it-”

   “Oh, for crying out loud! It’s not done yet, okay? Can’t you see the remaining time? There’s still more than twenty minutes!”

   “Why the Devil did you have to choose a bird this big? Something the size of a chicken would probably be done cooking by now! This doesn’t make any sense!”

   “Well don’t take it out on me! Some idiot had to decide that we should eat turkey like the Westeners, and here we are now!”

   “Seriously, what is wrong with that idiot?”

   It took the turkey fifteen more minutes to be fully cooked.

   “Finally, it took ages!” Estyshana exclaims as Jin takes the roast turkey out of the oven. “I sure thought I was going to be an old granny by the time it was done.”

   “No you won’t.” Jin reminds her.

   “Oh, right. Well, it was a figure of speech.”

   The turkey is the food that took the longest to cook. Meaning, the party can finally begin the moment it is done. When Jin and Estyshana exited the kitchen, they were welcomed by Wakaba. She’s smiling coldly at them.

   “I’m really sorry for being the idiot who suggested having turkey during the party. I hope you’ll forgive me.” she tells them while chuckling in a really scary manner.

   Estyshana elbowed Jin’s arm.

   “Look what you did! You made her really angry!” she hisses from the corner of her mouth.

   “Hey, you called her an idiot too.” Jin whispers.

   Ayumi came to their rescue at once.

   “I’m pretty sure that they said it out of hunger and frustration and didn’t mean it at all.” she says while standing behind Wakaba and putting her hands on her shoulders. “Right, you two?”

   Jin and Estyshana nod their heads vigorously in agreement. Wakaba’s expression slowly softens.

   “Well, all right. I guess this is the last time we’ll be having turkey since it takes too long to cook. We’ll just be having KFC or something next year.”

   Jin stares at her with a dreaded expression.

   “There’s going to be a next year?” he asks.

   “I know we’ll be having entrance exams and all, but we should enjoy our last Christmas together.”

   “I don’t.” Jin corrects her.

   “Me too.” Estyshana agrees.

   A few of their classmates murmur their agreements as well.

   “Well, most of us, anyway.”

   “Not to mention some of us might end up in different classes.”

   Wakaba rolls her eyes.

   “I think I know the reason you barely have any friends, Minase-kun…” she mumbles.

   “I’m fine with that, thank you very much.”

   “Say, can we start eating now?” Estyshana asks. “I’m seriously starving here!”

   “All right all right, yes we can.”

   “Finally!”

   And with that, the Christmas party of Class 2-2 has finally begun. Even though it’s called a party, it’s more like a dinner where everyone is just eating and drinking.

   “Sit together with me, Yoshii-kun!”

   “What are you saying? He’s going to be sitting with me!”

   “No, me!”

   “Now, now girls, there’s no need to fight.”

   Jin rolls his eyes. This is why he didn’t want to join this party, or any party involves this entire class for that matter. To make things worse, there are a few pairs of couples in this class, and they’re flirting among themselves without considering the feelings of those who’re still single. After taking some random food and drink, he sits down at a seat in the corner of the shop all by himself. Almost immediately, Estyshana sits down next to him with her own food and drink.

   “What are you doing sitting all by yourself?” she asks.

   Instead of answering, Jin stares pointedly at the normies.

   “This is a party. Shouldn’t you be enjoying yourself?”

   “I AM enjoying myself. By being alone.”

   “More like you couldn’t fit in!” she laughs while feeding herself a spoonful of potato salad.

   “Says the one who’s putting up a facade of a well-mannered lady while she is talking to her classmates.”

   She almost choked on the potato salad.

   “Hey, you didn’t have to say that out loud!” she says while looking around nervously.

   “What’s the difference? I’m pretty sure most, if not all our classmates have already known about your true nature by now. Even if they didn’t, they will since they’re listening to our conversation right now.”

   Estyshana turns her neck to look at their classmates, who avert their eyes guiltily. Her eyes got as wide as dinner plates.

   “You didn’t think this through at all, did you?” he asks her.

   “...No.”

   “Just forget about the facade and talk to them like how you would talk to me and a few of your closest friends already.”

   She lets out a sigh. Jin knows what she’s thinking. What he suggested is way easier said than done since she can never tell them that she’s not even a human. That’s she’s actually a demon.

   Jin pierces a piece of turkey meat with his fork and puts it in his mouth. He then chews a few times. The taste is pretty similar to a chicken.

   “How does it taste?” Estyshana asks.

   “Pretty normal for something that took eternity to cook.”

   “Let me have some.”

   Estyshana opens up her mouth. Jin pierces another piece of turkey and sends it to her mouth. He hears a few muffled squeals coming from the direction of his classmates.

   “...Its taste reminds me of chicken.” she comments after a few chews.

   “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

   A pause. Jin notices some faint blush on Estyshana’s cheeks.

   “You didn’t have to tell me that, you know! As if we weren’t too in sync with each other already!”

   More muffled squeals. Estyshana finally notices the attention they’re getting and decides to eat her meal quietly. As for Jin, he got up from his seat since his plate had become empty. He walks over to the table where all the food is placed so that he could have his plate filled.

   Hmm, let’s see. Roast beef, yes. Egg rolls, something he would have taken if it was a normal occasion, so no. He already ate some turkey-

   “Hey, Minase-kun! Over here!”

   Jin looks towards where the voice came from. It was a girl who spoke. She’s beckoning him.

   “Come here and sit with us for a while.” she invites.

   Her boyfriend/male friend and a mixture of three girls and two boys who’re sitting with her also look at him encouragingly.

   “Um, sure.”

   Wow, there are actually people who want his company. It’s definitely going to rain blood tomorrow. He obliges after taking some food.

   “How are you enjoying this party so far, Minase-kun?” the girl who first spoke to him asks.

   “Um, good I guess.”

   Drat, he has no idea what her name is, or her friends’ for that matter-

   “Hey, he doesn’t remember any of your names!” Estyshana shouts all of a sudden.

   Jin glares at her. She sticks out her tongue at him playfully.

   The girl and her friends laugh awkwardly.

   “My name is Shimada Ayaka.” the girl introduces herself.

   Her friends also did the same. Jin repeats the names he heard and pairs them up with the owners of the said names a few times inside his mind so that he won’t end up forgetting them again. Even so, he doubts that he can remember for long.

   “I’m really sorry for not remembering your names.” he apologizes.

   “It’s fine. Really. We, well, what we did to you was worse. We’re sorry.”

   She’s probably talking about the time when most of the students in Yokosuka were shunning him for supposedly having a relationship with Estyshana. He shrugs and waves the apology away.

   “No worries. You might not believe it, but all of you were deceived by a certain redhead.”

   Even without looking, Jin could tell that the mentioned demon is hanging her head in shame.

   “We believe you. As a matter of fact, the person herself came to us and said that she was lying.”

   Jin raises his eyebrow in surprise.

   “She actually did that?”

   “Yes. It was a few days after the Cultural Festival ended.”

   Ah, that was probably around the time when the two of them started to realize that they have feelings for each other.

   “After she told us the truth, we were so ashamed of ourselves.” Shimada continues to say with a guilty expression. “Still, we never had the courage to apologize to you for acting like a bunch of jerks.”

   Jin shrugs. “I never cared about my reputation, anyway. Besides, I’ve been through worse.”

   “Worse than all the shunning?”

   Cue flashback to his time at Ifezan where vast majority of the local populace treated him like some kind of walking rat. Once of twice, rocks were thrown at him.

   “Worse than all the shunning. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

   “Well, it is okay if we ask something private instead?”

   “That depends. What exactly do you want to ask?”

   “Well,” Shimada lowers her voice to a whisper. “We want to know how far you and Esty-san have progressed.”

   To be exact, the girls do. Their eyes are sparkling, and they have a really excited look while waiting for Jin’s reply. The boys, on the other hand, have indifferent expressions on their faces.

   “We’re currently less than lovers and more than friends.” Jin replies with a shrug.

   All the girls in the nearest vicinity let out an excited squeal at the same time.

   “Hey, why the Devil did you tell them?” Estyshana demands through the use of telepathy.

   “They probably wouldn’t settle for a vague answer anyway. And don’t you know it’s rude to eavesdrop?”

   “I wasn’t eavesdropping! It’s just that my hearing is too good!”

   “Uh-huh.”

   “Are you going to confess anytime soon?” Shimada asks excitedly while being completely oblivious to the mind conversation the two had.

   “No.” Jin answers her without a single hesitation.

   The girls look obviously disappointed at that.

   “Why not?” a second girl, Jin, believes her family name is Tada, ask. “The two of you are obviously in love with each other.”

   “The thing is, I did something really unforgivable to her in the past. As a result, she really hates my guts now.”

   Most of their classmates who heard this look understandably confused.

   “What exactly did you do to her?” Shimada couldn’t help but ask.

   “Sorry, I can’t tell you.”

   Thankfully, none of them decided to pry.

   “Well, let’s be optimistic. She’s still talking and flirting with you. Whatever that you did to her is obviously overshadowed by her feelings for you.”

   “Oh, I don’t know. My guilt and her hatred might be the biggest walls that obstruct the one last step we need to take if we want to change our relationship.”

   “Just try your best, Minase-kun.” Shimada encourages. “We’ll be cheering for you.”

   Her friends nod their heads in agreement. Jin simply doesn’t have the heart to tell them that their support is a complete waste of time.

   “Can we talk about something else before the festive mood is ruined?” he requests.

   “Sure. Do you want to go and visit the shrine during the New Year with us?”

   “You guys are going to wake up around midnight, aren’t you?”

   “Yes. You don’t have to join us if you don’t want to.”

   Jin shakes his head. “I don’t mind. Sure, I’ll join you.”

   He hears Watanabe let out a loud, horrified gasp.

   “Minase-kun is actually trying to socialize? This is an omen that warns us of the end of the world!” she shrieks hysterically.

   “Aren’t you being a tad dramatic there, Watanabe?”

   “Am not! I mean, it’s YOU we’re talking about here!”

   “I’m not that much of a social recluse, you know.”

   “Could have fooled me. You refused to go bowling with us until I asked Esty-chan to convince you, remember?”

   He shrugs at that. “That was then, this is now.”

   “Well, I’ll hold on to that.”

   Jin groans softly. All of a sudden, he wished that he had refused Shimada’s invitation.

   “Let’s exchange our numbers so that it’ll be easy for us to meet up.” Shimada says as she takes out her phone.

   Jin takes out his own phone. “Sure.”

   While he’s at it, he also exchanged phone numbers with her friends too. Wow, his phone actually has more phone numbers now. Talk about a Christmas Miracle.

   Shimada got up from her seat and went over to Estyshana.

   “Would you like to join us, Esty-san?” she invites.

   “Oh, I don’t know. I’m not really good at waking up really early.” the demon says hesitantly.

   Shimada leans in closer and whispers something to her ear. Once she was done, Estyshana looked at Jin before looking back at Shimada.

   “Sure. I’ll join you guys too.” she suddenly agrees.

   “Great!”

   They too, exchanged phone numbers so that it’s easier to contact each other.

   “...And registered.”

   “I’ll be in your care that day, Shimada.”

   “Please, call me Ayaka.”

   “Well, sure. Ayaka.”

   Shimada smiles happily. Something tells Jin it’s because of the fact that Estyshana is acting casually in front of her. Satisfied, she goes back to her seat.

   “How exactly did you manage to convince her?” he asks her curiously.

   “Oh, you don’t have to worry about it.” Shimada says while smiling mysteriously.

   Now Jin got even more curious. After all, the demon’s glance made it very clear that he had something to do with it. Ah well, he’ll find out on the day itself.

   “So, are we going to Kameda?” he asks next.

   “Of course.” Shimada confirms. “After all, one of our classmates is a shrine maiden there.”

   “We could always use some extra help, so I would really appreciate it if any of you are willing to volunteer!” Ayumi, who was obviously listening in, stands up and announces.

   Already, a few girls have promised to help.

   “Say Minase-kun, what do you think of shrine maidens?” Shimada asks Jin all of a sudden.

   “Where did that come from?”

   Watanabe appears out of nowhere and sits down next to Shimada.

   “Go on Minase-kun, tell us!” she prompts Jin.

   He shrugs.

   “I appreciate their service, I guess,” he replies.

   “Um, that’s not what we’re asking.”

   “We want to know whether you find their outfit attractive.”

   “Nope. They’re not really to my taste. Besides, I’m not that insane as to lust over those who work for Gods.”

   Jin notices two boys from Shimada’s gang averting their eyes guiltily. Looks like they’re disagreeing with him on the subject matter.

   “What kind of costume do you like, then?” Watanabe asks persistently.

   “Nurse.”

   “Wow. You love to be coddled and spoiled, huh?”

   Jin shrugs at that. His reason is actually pretty practical. While he’s injured after fighting, say, a dragon, he has zero intention of being looked after by someone wearing a hospital gown or some other gloomy outfit. Then again, he can cure his own injuries easily enough, so there was zero need for him to visit a hospital or anywhere that offers a place for the injured to rest up.

   Watanabe looks towards Estyshana. The demon was looking over here, but averted her gaze when her friend looked at her.

   “Well, I hope someone is taking notes on this!” she says loudly on purpose.

   Estyshana kept her silence.

   Once everyone is done eating, it’s finally time for the present exchange. Needless to say, most girls in this class are aiming for Yoshii’s gift. All of them were praying real hard when it’s time for them to draw a lot from the box provided. So far, no one has gotten the present bought by him. Well, it has nothing to do with him. Rather, it’s his turn to draw.

   He got 12. The same number is shown on the present bought by Estyshana. Wakaba, who was holding the box for him, almost exploded with glee when she saw the number of the lot. So were Watanabe, Ayumi, Shimada and a few girls who were looking on.

   It’s Estyshana’s turn next. Her number is 11, which is the number written on Jin’s present. More excited squeals and giggling are heard immediately.

   “Has everyone drawn a number?” Wakaba asks. “Okay, then. You can take your presents.”

   Jin waits patiently as he gets the one meant for him. Estyshana has already gotten hers and is waiting for him to open up the present. The two of them open their presents at the same time, showing the contents within.

   The two of them got a white mug of the same size and design. For all they know, they’re from the same department store. The entire place got quiet at once. And then, all the girls let out another collective squeal. They were being so loud Jin thought he was going to go deaf.

   “Oh my GOD! These two are so meant to be together!”

   “Are you sure the two of you aren’t going out?”

   “This is fate itself telling you two to be a couple!”

   “That’s right that’s right!”

   “Will you people just calm down? This is nothing to fuss about.” Jin tells them a little irritably.

   “Exactly. No big deal at all.” Estyshana agrees.

   She’s saying that, but her face is as red as the color of her hair. Jin decides not to point it out since the situation is already chaotic.

   On a side note, the one who got Yoshii’s present is a girl whose name Jin couldn’t remember. She got a rice bowl with the picture of a cat on it from him. She declared that she’ll put it inside a glass cabinet and treasure it for the rest of her life.

   The party lasted until 9 at night since some of them have curfew. Those who have none wanted to have an afterparty among themselves, but Wakaba was against it.

   “It’s getting more and more dangerous around here these days, so all of you should head home as soon as possible.” she warns.

   Naturally, no one spoke against the class mother. And so, the group is disbanded, and all of them head back to their respective homes.